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Six consenting students completed eight weekly 90-minute groups, a 10-item Perceived Stress Scale, a knitting experience survey, and tracking of time spent knitting between sessions. Results suggested stress slowly decreased over eight weeks with positive knitting experiences.",{"@graph":14,"@context":66},[15,34,49],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/healthcare/","Healthcare",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/knitting-as-a-coping-strategy-for-autistic-first-year-college-students-practice-brief/579815/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"author":36,"headline":10,"publisher":39,"fileFormat":42,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":43,"datePublished":43,"encodingFormat":42,"isAccessibleForFree":44,"interactionStatistic":45},"DigitalDocument",{"name":37,"@type":38},"Asher","Person",{"url":19,"name":40,"@type":41},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":46,"interactionType":47,"userInteractionCount":4},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":48},"ViewAction",{"@type":50,"mainEntity":51},"FAQPage",[52,58,62],{"name":53,"@type":54,"acceptedAnswer":55},"What was the goal of this pilot study?","Question",{"text":56,"@type":57},"To evaluate whether knitting could reduce stress and promote wellness for first-year college students with autism spectrum disorder.","Answer",{"name":59,"@type":54,"acceptedAnswer":60},"How was stress measured during the eight-week intervention?",{"text":61,"@type":57},"Participants completed a pre- and post-session stress assessment using a 10-Item Perceived Stress Scale and reported experiences through additional surveys.",{"name":63,"@type":54,"acceptedAnswer":64},"How did the knitting intervention work for participants?",{"text":65,"@type":57},"Six students participated in eight weekly 90-minute knitting group sessions and recorded the time spent knitting between sessions.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":68,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":40,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":70,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":72,"site_id":7},579815,1792036398,{"code":4,"msg":75,"data":76},"success",[77,81,85,89,94,99,103,108,113,116,120],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":78,"show_sort_weight":79,"slug":80},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":82,"show_sort_weight":83,"slug":84},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":86,"show_sort_weight":87,"slug":88},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":90,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":91,"show_sort_weight":92,"slug":93},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":95,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":96,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":98},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":100,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":101,"slug":102},7,40,"healthcare",{"id":104,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":105,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":107},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":109,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":110,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":112},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":114,"show_sort_weight":111,"slug":115},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":118,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":119},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":121,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":122,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":123},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":75,"data":125},{"doc_id":72,"user_id":126,"nickname":37,"user_avatar":127,"doc_module":4,"category_id":100,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":128,"file_id":129,"file_url":130,"file_type":131,"file_size":132,"view_count":4,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":95,"language":133,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":134,"faqs":135,"seo_title":136,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":73,"read_time":137},687197207639,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_a8503ba1806abce46bf441b54a3ca4cd","Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 2025, 38(3), 619-624 619  \nKnitting as a Coping Strategy for Autistic First-Year College Students  \n(Practice Brief)  \nHeidi Hillman¹  \nAbstract  \nThis pilot study explored the potential of knitting as a stress reduction activity to promote overall wellness for first year college students with autism spectrum disorder. It was hypothesized that after engaging in a series of knitting sessions, participants would report a decrease in stress levels, as demonstrated using a pre-and post-session stress assessment. Six college students consented to participate in eight weekly knitting sessions to determine the effectiveness of knitting on managing stress. Participants completed a 10-Item Perceived Stress Scale, a knitting experience survey, participated in a 90-minute knitting group weekly for eight weeks, and recorded time spent knitting in between sessions. Participants reported their stress levels slowly reduced over the eight weeks as well as positive experiences with knitting. This study allows us to be cautiously optimistic that knitting helped first-year autistic college students manage their stress levels. Disability service professionals and college counseling center staff may find knitting groups to be of value for stress reduction in autistic college students. Additional research on the use of such groups is warranted.  \nKeywords: autism, college students, knitting, stress  \nStress is a natural response to potential threatsand challenges, but chronic stress can lead to numerous health issues (Howland et al., 2017; Salleh, 2008; World Health Organization, 2023) . The transition to college can be stressful for many young adults (Matud et al., 2020) and can be attributed to a variety of factors including academic demands, social adjustments, time management, loneliness, and independent decision making (Barbayannis et al., 2022; Freire et al., 2016; Garett et al., 2018; Karyotaki et al., 2020; Reddy et al., 2018) . Evidence suggests that stress plays a significant role in college. For example, a 2015 National College Health Assessment Survey reported that 75% of college students reported feeling stressed (American Psychological Association, 2020) and up to 87% of college students surveyed across the United States reported stress during college, negatively impacting academic performance, motivation, well-being, and mental health, leading to increased dropout rates (American Psychological Association, 2020; Green et al., 2022; Pascoe et al., 2020) .  \nStress in college can have specific effects for students with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) . ASD is a complex neurodevelopmental condition characterized by challenges in communication and social in-  \nteractions (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2022; Bangerter et al., 2017; National Institute of Mental Health, 2024); approximately 1 in 36 individuals are diagnosed with ASD (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2024) . Autistic individuals prefer routines and consistency, making transitions like beginning college especially stressful because of the unknown challenges and uncertainties that disrupt their daily lives (Hillman, 2020) . Since autistic students are attending colleges at a growing rate (Cage & Howes, 2020; Field, 2022), recognizing the impact of stress on these students and teaching them healthy coping strategies is crucial for a successful transition to college while maintaining a healthy well-being (Cage & Howes, 2020; Field, 2022) .  \nThis paper uses identity-first language such as“autistic individuals” rather than person-centered language. Many individuals in the autism community, including the author of this paper, prefer identity-first language because we view autism as an inseparable part of our identity and take pride in it (Ryan, 2019) . Knitting, a popular and versatile craft, combines repetitive motions with physical and cognitive skills, allowing for the creation of numerous items (Corkhill et","cbCaiolVuluz0R7g","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaiolVuluz0R7g","pdf",193325,"English","# Abstract\n## Depiction of the Problem","[{\"question\":\"What was the goal of this pilot study?\",\"answer\":\"To evaluate whether knitting could reduce stress and promote wellness for first-year college students with autism spectrum disorder.\"},{\"question\":\"How was stress measured during the eight-week intervention?\",\"answer\":\"Participants completed a pre- and post-session stress assessment using a 10-Item Perceived Stress Scale and reported experiences through additional surveys.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the knitting intervention work for participants?\",\"answer\":\"Six students participated in eight weekly 90-minute knitting group sessions and recorded the time spent knitting between sessions.\"}]","Knitting as a Coping Strategy for Autistic First-Year College Students - Practice Brief | PDF",15]